Why Roundup?

Roundup is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. The
majority of GM crops have been modified to tolerate Roundup, the main chemical
ingredient of which is glyphosate. GM glyphosate-tolerant plants are engineered
to absorb the Roundup herbicide without dying, meaning that GM
glyphosate-tolerant crops may contain glyphosate residues.[1]

Roundup is not only used on GM crops. It is also used
for:

Desiccating (drying down) crops to make them
easier to harvest and to enable storage without rotting

Weed control for a variety of crops

Weed control by municipal authorities in
public spaces, such as on roadsides, pavements, railway lines, parks, and
school grounds

Weed control in home gardens.

Thus, irrespective of GM crops, the impacts of Roundup on its
own warrant evaluation.

Commercially available Roundup herbicide contains both
glyphosate – the so-called active ingredient – and added ingredients
(adjuvants) to make the herbicide more effective. These include surfactants or
wetting agents, which help the glyphosate penetrate the plant.

These adjuvants are called “inerts” by the
industry and regulators. However, biologically, they are not all inert. Studies
show that adjuvants can be more toxic than glyphosate alone and they can
increase the toxicity of glyphosate. As a result, complete herbicide
formulations like Roundup are far more toxic than glyphosate alone.[2]

However, the safety tests conducted by
industry to support regulatory authorizations of glyphosate herbicides are on
glyphosate alone. The complete formulation of Roundup as it is sold and used has
never been tested over the long term for regulatory purposes. Séralini’s study
contributes valuable data to this information vacuum.